Sahana Devi () (1897–1990) was an Indian singer, she was a widely listened to singer of

Rabindra Sangeet ''Rabindra Sangeet'' (; ), also known as Tagore Songs, are songs from the Indian subcontinent written and composed by the Bengalis, Bengali polymath Rabindranath Tagore, winner of the 1913 Nobel Prize in Literature, the first Indian and also the ...

. She was the niece of Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das.

Career

She was born into an illustrious Bengali Brahmo family and had distinguished array of men and women in her paternal and maternal sides. Her paternal grandfather Kali Narayan Gupta, was a zamindar who became a Brahmo samaj leader, social reformer and a songwriter. Sir, K G Gupta, one of the top ranking Indian ICS was her father's elder brother. Her father Dr. Pyare Mohan Gupta was a district civil surgeon. Atul Prasad Sen was her father's sister's son. Her mother Tarala Devi was the elder sister of 'Deshbandhu' Chittaranjan Das. Sahaha took her music lessons from her maternal aunt Amala Das, a pioneer Rabindra Sangeet exponent and the first Indian woman to record songs in

His Master's Voice His Master's Voice is an entertainment trademark featuring a dog named Nipper, curiously peering into the horn of a wind-up gramophone. Painted by Francis Barraud in 1898, the image has since become a global symbol used across consumer elect ...

. She was among the few singers to learn directly from

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Thakur (; anglicised as Rabindranath Tagore ; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengalis, Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer, and painter of the Bengal Renai ...

and Dinendranath Tagore. In 1922, she met Dilipkumar Roy in the Gaya session of the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

and was deeply influenced by his musical style, though she retained a distinct way of her own. Sick and deserted by her family, she was given refuge in 1927 by Tagore in his

Santiniketan Shantiniketan (IPA: Help:IPA/Bengali, �antiniketɔn is a neighbourhood of Bolpur town in the Bolpur subdivision of Birbhum district in West Bengal, India, approximately 152 km north of Kolkata. It was established by Maharshi Devendra ...

but she had to leave the place for her failing health. Sahana Devi was one of two singers allowed by Rabindranath Tagore to improvise his songs.

Personal life

Devi was the niece of

Chittaranjan Das Chittaranjan Das (5 November 1870 – 16 June 1925), popularly called ''Deshbandhu'' (friend of the country), was a Bengali freedom fighter, political activist and lawyer during the Indian Independence Movement and the political guru of Indi ...

and a cousin of Atulprasad Sen. In 1928, she joined the Aurobindo Ashram at

Pondicherry Pondicherry, officially known as Puducherry, is the Capital city, capital and most populous city of the Puducherry (union territory), Union Territory of Puducherry in India. The city is in the Puducherry district on the southeast coast of Indi ...

where she lived until her death in 1990. Devi wrote an

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

in 1978 called 'Smritir Kheya' (Ferrying Down the memory stream)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Devi, Sahana Bengali singers 1897 births 1990 deaths